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Ferrari's birthday at the PetersenFerrari's birthday at the Petersen1 of 28The Ferrari Club of America Southwest Region celebrated Enzo Ferrari's 120th birthday with a gathering of 200 Ferraris at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Here, one of the beautiful people of Los Angeles enjoys the presence of a 1962 250 GT Series II PF Cabriolet, brought by Eric Sander of GTO Engineering. Happy Birthday, Enzo!

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 44 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 55 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 66 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 88 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 1818 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 1919 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2020 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2121 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2222 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2323 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2424 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2525 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2626 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Photo by Mark Vaughn

Ferrari Club at the Petersen Photo 2727 of 28Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898. One week and 120 years later, the Ferrari Club of America got together to celebrate his birthday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

You may recall some big Ferrari festivities last year. Those were for the 70th anniversary of Ferrari the race team and car company and went on all year, most notably with celebrations at Pebble Beach, New York and, of course, Maranello.

Officially, the club calls it “Enzo’s Birthday Cruise In” and they’ve been doing it in partnership with the Petersen Museum for about ten years. The event has always been held on the last Sunday in February, which is just off the actual Feb. 18 date of Il Grande Vecchio’s arrival in Modena.

I ran into real, live racer Cort Wagner, past winner of the Porsche Cup, who is currently campaigning a 488 in the Ferrari Challenge, and asked him whether he’d ever driven an F40. Of course he had. Was there turbo lag, I asked, trying to sound like I myself could just as easily pilot an F40 and was just wondering, you know, how it was and all?

“You just have to keep on it,” Wagner said, grabbing the imaginary steering wheel and stepping on the imaginary gas pedal that all race car drivers use when talking. “You don’t want to be getting on and off the throttle in these.”

I’ll remember that.

The gathering drew maybe a thousand people into the museum that day, with a line reportedly stretching to Wilshire Blvd. Inside was the museum's amazing Ferrari exhibit, "Seeing Red: 70 Years of Ferrari" which, if you haven't seen yet, you really have to.

But out in the parking lot, there were a few oddball cars among the Ferraris, including an incongruous silver Mazda3 right about in pole position. Imagine that on the lawn at Amelia Island or Villa d’Este. Apparently, the Ferrari Club used to handle parking assignments in past years but this year the museum insisted on doing it themselves, essentially leaving Concours selection to a bunch of guys in blue blazers.

“Obviously they don’t know a Ferrari from a Toyota pickup,” grumbled one tifosi, pointing to an offending Toyota.

Indeed, while the third floor was in past years a sea of red Ferraris, this year it was more like a salad bowl that included a couple Mercedes, a Corvette, some Minis, and whatever else the museum let in. But you can’t really complain.

“The weather was great and everyone had a good time,” said events chairman Jim Bindman. “We do it to support the museum, and the museum was packed.”

Next month is the club’s “Ortega Run,” up and over Ortega Highway for lunch in Temecula then back over the hills. You still have time to buy a Ferrari and join the club. Till then, Buon Compleanno Enzo!